Theme Of Heroism In To Kill A Mockingbird

When people think of heroes, they will likely think of Superman, Spiderman, or the Hulk, but Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has created a new hero. His name is Atticus Finch. Scout, Atticus’s daughter, says, “Our father didn’t do anything. He worked in an office, not a drug store. Atticus did not drive a dump truck for the county, he was not the sheriff, he did not farm, work in a garage, or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone” (Lee 118). Although Scout does not consider her father to be neither youthful nor energetic, he does what all heroes do- he protects the innocent. The main theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is destroyed and preserved innocence, and without Atticus protecting the innocent, all innocence would be destroyed. Atticus embodies the theme of To Kill a Mockingbird and shows heroism by setting a good example for the children and the townspeople, giving insightful advice to his children, and protecting an innocent African American man before the civil rights era had even begun.

On the other hand, Aunt Alexandra faced a different but common obstacle, prejudice. Since prejudice was ubiquitous, Aunt Alexandra demonstrated maturity when she became more accepting of others especially Calpurnia, Boo and Scout. Aunt Alexandra, Scout and Jem’s caretaker, had some difficulties interacting and talking around people who were a different race or a lower social or economic class. When Aunt Alexandra first met Calpurnia, the African-American maid who worked in the Finch’s house, she despised her and all of her actions. No matter what Calpurnia did or what she said, she could not please Aunt Alexandra. However, later on in the novel, Aunt Alexandra developed a more accepting attitude towards Calpurnia. She allowed Calpurnia to serve the children dinner. This shows how much Aunt Alexandra has grown to be more accepting of other races and not be prejudice. Not only does Aunt Alexandra accept Calpurnia for who she is, but she also learns to accept Scout. “She brought me something to put on, and had I thought about it then, I would have never let her forget it: in her distraction, Aunty brought me my overalls” (Pg.264).

One of the significant themes in To Kill A Mockingbird is fighting a losing battle. One of the losing battles in the novel was the incident regarding the mad dog. When Jem and Scout decided to go exploring with their air rifles, they saw Tim Johnson down the street, a "liver-colored bird dog, the pet of Maycomb" (Lee 96). When the children saw the dog, they told Calpurnia. After Calpurnia saw the dog with her own eyes, she classified the dog as a mad dog (Lee 123). Subsequently, Atticus and Heck Tate came to observe the situation. Tim Johnson was walking erratically at a snail’s pace towards the Radley Place (Lee 125). Atticus killed the dog in one shot with Heck’s rifle (Lee 127). This incident was a losing battle because the mad dog had

To Kill A Mockingbird is a book about courage to what extent do you agree with this?

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, injustice is a main theme that is reflected towards many characters. To Kill a Mockingbird, is a novel written by Harper Lee and published in the nineteen-sixties. Many characters in the story are treated unfairly in society due to racial or prejudicial attitudes. Overall these characters are innocent victims of injustice. Atticus, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are considered to be mockingbirds in the novel. A mockingbird was defined as a bird that did nothing wrong, but sang beautiful music for us to hear. These characters did nothing wrong and were treated unfairly in their town. In this different society, there are many factors that have had an influence on people’s perceptions towards others.

After Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to church, she tells them, “You’re not gonna change? any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language,” (Lee, 1960, p. 167). This statement Calpurnia tells to Scout and Jem proves in Maycomb she has no right to having one life. She either has to act more smart and sophisticated, or she must act like her friends and family in the black community. Calpurnia having to go back and forth between lives shows the readers the way most African American woman had to act to be able to fit in without being discriminated or treated unequally by others.

The genre of the story is historical fiction and the setting is the 1930’s southern America in a town called Maycomb, in Alabama. The story is narrated by Scout Finch, a young girl whose innocent heart has been exposed to the evils of southern United States in the 1930’s. This setting is vital to the plot of the summary because during that time was the great depression and racism was especially common in the south, where lynching rose from 8 in

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee depicts racism in the 1930’s and shows the characters had to overcome challenges because of it. The 1930’s was a difficult time to live in because of racism against African Americans and the depression, where thousands of people lost their jobs. The idea “an extraordinary challenge can sometimes make an ordinary person into a hero” shows that anyone in To Kill a Mockingbird could have been a hero, even in a time of hardships. Scout Finch, Arthur “Boo” Radley, and Atticus Finch overcame challenges in the story in order to become great heroes.

With her power, Calpurnia should have been on the jury, been a lawyer, or done other opportunities that she may have considered doing. Although Maycomb, would not have allowed her to have those jobs since she was an African American Women. Aunt Alexandra is shown as a symbol of the “perfect” southern women. Alexandra always followed what society tells her and never forgets to put Scout in that position as well. Aunt Alexandra warned Scout about her coming to stay with Atticus, she mentioned that Scout would “get in trouble if [she] went around saying things [improperly]” (105) to other people.

In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird adversity is showed throughout the town especially through two different characters. Those characters may be on opposing sides in the courtroom but they both share a hard life, they are Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson.

In our world individual’s identities are often shaped through adversity. Adversity can come in many forms such as trials, hardships, and misfortunes that we see everywhere in our world today. Jem and Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird” were greatly impacted by what was going on around them as they were forced to deal with adult problems. The children were both faced with situations that tested their ability to respond maturely and questioned their moral understanding. Atticus, their father, was also faced with adversity that confirmed his wisdom and compassion towards others.

Calpurnia knows Jem’s and Scout’s personalities better than Aunt Alexandra, because she has been around them for a longer period of time. Calpurnia is also a very protective person and likes to keep Jem and Scout out of harm’s way. For example, when Atticus is gone at the courthouse on Sunday, Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to church at First Purchase and tells Lula that these are my children (Lee 158). This shows how much she cares about Jem and Scout even though she is not their biological mother. Scout learns how to write from Calpurnia. This shows that Calpurnia is with the children a great deal of time and has taken an interest in their education and continued growth, illustrating strong qualities of a mother figure. Aunt Alexandra can also be evaluated as a mother figure. Aunt Alexandra has a very strong personality and insists that Scout change the way she dresses on a daily basis, to make her more ladylike. She does so without asking Scout for her opinion, which frustrates and annoys Scout. Her lack of interest in who Scout is as a person is a tell tale sign that she is not a very good mother figure for Scout and Jem, because she is trying to change who they are as

It was obvious immediately of Alexandra 's prejudice by the first thing she spoke, "Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia," (Lee 167) Instead of asking kindly like the rest of the family did, she demanded. Alexandra treats Calpurnia as a slave rather than a person that the family has grown to love. Since the novel took place in the 1930 's and many people in the South had racist views, Alexandra was not different from others in Maycomb. Not only was Alexandra racist but she was, also, superficial and as a result, cared a lot about the opinions of others. When she found out that Jem and Scout went to the black church with Calpurnia,

Nelson Mandela, politician, and philanthropist, and president of South Africa for five years, once stated, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” In the story To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee many of the characters courageously face circumstances that normally people would cower and back away from. People should stand up for what they know is right and sometimes do things that require audacity to do. Whether the people stand up for someone they know or something they know they need to remain strong. Even though multiple people displayed bravery, three key characters stood out. Many different qualities and people present themselves throughout the book, but the courage demonstrated by Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Jem sticks out the most.

Nobody ever doubted Superman. Superman lived life as a strong, white, male hero with superpowers. Fortunately, Harper Lee never conformed to these uniform ideas of what a hero should be, but rather expressed unlikely heroism in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee demonstrated to the world a moral to be remembered: a status in society does not define who you are or who you can become. Lee’s marginalized characters are held back by their socioeconomic status, but still are untraditional heroes by maintaining their integrity, assisting others without interest of reward, and jumping over the barrels society rolls towards them.